Syria

Syria: Economic and Fiscal Figures Predate the Current Period

Most of the quantitative data available on Syria in this dataset are old, in several cases by more than a decade, and should be read as describing a prior period rather than current conditions. This briefing states the gaps directly and draws no inference the figures do not support.

Economy

The World Bank's WDI figures put Syria's GDP at $23.6 billion and GDP per capita at $1,052, both dated 2022. Population is more recent, at 24,672,760 for 2024, also World Bank WDI.

Debt and Reserves

The IMF's WEO figures show government debt at 30.0% of GDP, dated 2010 — 16 years before this briefing and before the civil conflict that began in 2011. The World Bank's WDI data list reserves at $20.6 billion, also dated 2010. Neither figure reflects any period since.

Military

SIPRI's figures show Syrian military expenditure at $2.49 billion for 2011, with a milex-to-GDP ratio of 4.056% dated 2010 under SIPRI's own GDP series — a ratio drawn from a different year than the expenditure figure itself, and from SIPRI's own GDP series rather than the World Bank GDP figure above; the two series should not be mixed. The COW NMC dataset lists 169,000 active personnel in 2022 and a CINC score of 0.0029 for the same year, the only military-adjacent figures here close to the present.

Governance

V-Dem's 2025 (v15) scores are current: electoral democracy at 0.128, liberal democracy at 0.054, and state capacity at 0.282 — each toward the low end of V-Dem's global range.

Energy

Per Our World in Data, primary energy consumption was 0.338 exajoules in 2023 and electricity generation was 24.88 terawatt-hours in 2024. Oil production was 19.28 TWh and gas production 27.23 TWh, both for 2024 — the most recent figures in this file, though they describe output levels only, not broader economic conditions.

Sources: World Bank WDI; IMF WEO; SIPRI Milex; COW NMC; V-Dem v15; Our World in Data (Energy).